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I tried to update my blog yesterday and just as I was 2 lines away from finishing the lady who was fiddling with leads next to my computer unplugged mine so I lost everything I'd written. I was SO annoyed! So here goes take two...
I'm starting to enjoy Honduras now. For the first few days I was a bit upset because I missed all my lovely friends in Guatemala and I really missed my class, I was always wondering what they were doing. It is better now that I have met the other volunteers, to begin with I was a bit lonely. So on Monday morning I had to get up at 5.45am to have breakfast at 6am and walk down to the centre of town, we get picked up and taken to the school in San Rafael in a pickup truck at 6.30am, which is a fun but bumpy ride! We arrive at the school at about 7am and give the kids fruit and play with them until lessons start at 7.30am. The school is very different to the one in Guatemala, this one is government run, so there are 2 Guatemalan teachers who have 3 grades each (there are 6 in the school). Lauren (an other volunteer) and I help Erika out with her grade 2, which is helpful as I had the second grade in Guatemala so I'm helping out with the same material. I think Erika seems to be pretty grateful for the help, I have a lot of respect for her running 3 classes by herself for ages, it is a handful. From 7.30 until around 8.15am they practice their reading then until 9.30am they do some maths, just sums etc. It is then break until 10.15am and we give them "merienda": a bowl of rice and black beans and two corn tortillas. After break they do either Spanish language, science or social science until 12 noon. I find though that by about 11am it is really really hot and because I'm not leading the class, I'm just wandering around helping the kids, the heat makes me very tired and makes me want to fall asleep! It's almost harder not having to lesson plan and have the responsibility of your own class, because it means you get the chance to stop, and that makes the heat and the tiredness catch up with you. In Guatemala I was always busy so I never really got the chance! The kids here are a lot better off than they were in Guatemala, here they have their own pens, pencils, rubbers, sharpeners, they bring their books to school in rucksacks and they wear smart trousers and a skirt with smart shoes. In Guatemala they just had nothing. They aren't nearly as affectionate either, I mean they will play and tickle and everything, but all the kids in Guatemala were all over you all the time and very huggy. I miss them! I also think my family is better off than the family I was with in Guatemala; here I have a double bed, ensuite bathroom, and cable TV and a fan in my bedroom!
On a Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, we stay at the school until about 1.30 or 2pm to give English lessons to the kids in the secondary school. It is interesting and makes a nice change because they are pretty much the same age as me (which is a little bit weird haha) some are 17, one is ever 21!! They are all really friendly though and really want to learn and also have a laugh. Maybe that TEFL course is coming in handy after all! We then get the pick up back into town and go back to our families for a late lunch. It's cool because then we have the whole afternoon free to do whatever we like. On a Monday and Thursday we come back from school at about 1pm for lunch with our family then go to an orphanage here in Copan from 2pm til about 3.30pm to help out with their homework or just play with them. The first thing that hits you as you walk in is the smell, to be honest I don't really like going there I don't really enjoy it, but I feel so sorry for them. The majority don't have families and some of them their families can't look after them. The conditions in there aren't that great, just a concrete floor and a few chairs, a basic kitchen and I guess upstairs there are some bedrooms, although I haven't been up there.
On Wednesday afternoon, Laura, Lisa and I took the afternoon free as an opportunity to do one of our prepaid trips to las Aguas Calientes, a natural hot springs place about an hour's drive from Copan on the bumpiest road I've been on yet. We had to go really slow all the way there because it was so bumpy! It was soooo cool though, really really relaxing. The water came out of the spring at the top like a waterfall and it was 86degrees celcius so obviously we couldn't swim in it there. They had a seating area just next to it though so it was like a natural steam room, so cool! Then the water kept falling down the hill from pool to pool, each one getting a bit cooler as you went down. You started at the bottom and worked your way up. It was a really nice way to spend the afternoon after a hard day's work!
On Friday we had the day off school yesterday because it was some sort of Honduran national holiday, so I just chilled around Copan for the day, had a chocolate ice cream (amazing and just what I was craving, haven't had one in so long!) and then last night us 5 volunteers went out for a few drinks. There weren't that many people out because apparently Saturday is the night to go out here, not Friday, which we didn't realise, but Lizzie and I ended up not getting in until 3am anyway! We went to this really cool bar where the bar stools were make from saddles. Hahaha good times. Although it meant I was pretty tired today when we went to go and see the famous Copan Ruins. The tour was about 2 hours long, but it was really interesting to see the ruins of the ancient Mayan city and to hear all about how it used to be. I'm not usually particularly interested in historic things like that, but it was really beautiful and our guide was funny. It was boiling hot though, I thought I was going to faint! The water here tastes disgusting aswell, we don't drink tap water, but even the stuff out of filters is horrible! It's only nice when it's very chilled. Then I came here to the internet to upload some photos and to try updating this again! So I guess that's me up to date!
As ever, miss you guys, thinking of you back home and looking forward to seeing you when I get back! Lots of love,
Joelle
xxxx
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